I’ve been reading Ann Voskamp’s 1,000 Gifts. Many parts of it resonate with me, and I encourage you to check it out and give it a read. She has a unique writing style that utilizes colorful descriptive language, and a semi-stream-of-consciousness flow to her writing which I usually find unappealing, but the truth which punctuates her work is highly relatable and makes the book worth while.
So, in honor of putting to good use what I’ve been learning by going through this book with my mentor, I decided to share 20 things for which I am abundantly thankful, in no particular order.
- No student loan debt
- No car payments
- No credit card debt- or debt at all!
- New roof on my home through the rainy season
- Sunflowers about to bloom
- Flowering elderberry bushes
- Giant Cinderella pumpkins blossoming
- Green beans to harvest
- Abundant growth in the gardens
- My infant’s gummy smile
- The obedience of my 5 year old
- God’s Word made flesh
- The Holy Bible
- Farm fresh eggs
- Natural rock on my property
- Power tools
- Full bellies
- Inquisitive children
- Naptime silence
- Clean dishes
Wow, I actually could keep going- I’m on a roll today. How about 20 more?
- The gift of homeownership
- The gift of motherhood
- My Salvation in Christ
- Waking up with a hymn stuck in my head
- Running water
- My health
- Black coffee with coconut oil and grassfed butter
- My husband
- A sea of grey-blue eyes blinking back at me from around the breakfast table
- Little shoes for little feet
- Grass-stained skin
- The smell of rich, fertile soil
- Clean sheets
- A washing machine and dryer
- My animals
- Dirt under my fingernails
- When the house smells like breakfast
- Clean floors
- Minty toothpaste
- Berkey-filtered water
All of these things are gifts. Many times, I miss seeing them as gifts. There are so many times I choose anger and discontentment because they’re more easily accessible in tough situations. But that choice ultimately robs me of joy every time.
The choice to see the gift, then thank God for it, and to receive it as His blessing to me- that creates joy. I wanna be a joy factory. I want to live into my name- to be a “delight” for the people around me, and to be a source of life and encouragemrnt instead of a joyless drain on their lives.
So far, I’ve counted nearly 300 gifts. Far from 1,000, but I’m still hunting them down and thanking God for each and every one.